Agent Beckett's First and last Case
by Guarding My Castle
Summary: Agent Beckett has finished her training and is ready to be assigned to her first case. But before she is, a lot of fun stuff takes place. I am tired of all the break up stories. This one is not
1. Getting Settled

**All Right everyone remember**  
**I don't own anything except my story. But that story is based on someone else's story. Therefore they own that story and all the charachters in their story So does that mean they own my story?**

**I'm confused now. Oh wait! I stay confused**  
**The TV show Castle and all the players belong to ABC/Marlow/Disney and not me**

* * *

**Now for this story. I have grown tired of ALL the horror stories about Kate leaving Castle and moving to DC and them breaking up, and then going back together only to have more heartbreak, etc,etc**

**I like fun **

**I am going to try to make this more to my liking**

**FUN (I hope)**

* * *

Friday afternoon, newly appointed Special Agent Katherine Beckett has arrived at her assignment desk in Washington. She has just completed her orientation and training. Since she moved from a major metropolitan city police department, she was not required to complete the normal 6 month training for the job

As she exits the elevator onto the floor, she sees rows and rows of desks with no separation. She was told that once she arrives, she would be able to find her desk with no problem. She has to walk down several rows before she finds her assigned location. There is barely enough room to sit down at your desk and get your chair to roll under you, let alone move after you are seated.

After she finally located her position, buried in between other agents, she drops her bag at the desk that already has her name plate and turns to meet the man whose desk is right beside hers.

"Hello I'm Katherine Beckett but you can just call me Kate" as she extends her hand to the man who finally looks up from his seated position at the adjacent desk

It is obvious from the look on his face that he is taken back by her appearance

"Well! Good Morning Kate! "He says with a large amount of excitement in his voice "I am Jess. Jess Wellborn" as he takes her hand into his." and it is my pleasure to meet you. Did you just get here? I mean to the unit?"

"Yes I just finished my orientation yesterday and was ordered to report there today. I need to find the supervisor. Where's the boss' office so I can check in with him?"

Pointing toward a closed office on the opposite end of the floor "The chief is Victor Gonzales, but he is not here this afternoon. You will have to meet with him on Monday. But you still need to drop off your transfer papers with his assistant, June" He indicates a blond haired woman sitting directly outside the closed office

"Thanks" Beckett responds as she turns to walk to the opposite end of the floor

As Beckett begins walking another male agent, Ted Harrington, steps up beside Wellborn "WOW! Will you look at her! We haven't had an agent that good looking since…"

Wellborn finishes the sentence "I don't remember. And no ring. I checked her hand. You know I don't remember the last time I saw a woman that smokin' hot come in here. There hasn't been any female agent coming thru the door that good looking in a long time. Man oh man. I think I am going to ask her out for drinks tonight."

"Not alone you won't. I am not letting you get started on her without a fight"

While these two men are fighting over who is going to score a date with Beckett first, another agent, this time female walks up to join the conversation "What are you two scheming?"

"Hey Barbs. We were just wondering about the new agent, Kate Beckett. What do you know about her?"

Barbara Allen is a seasoned senior agent with the group. Her position with these two men is similar to what Beckett had with Ryan and Esposito. Allen has been leading the team for five years and she has seen these two try repeatedly to get dates with new female agents as they arrive. And actually they have both been able to at least get a dinner date with almost all of them or at least take them out for drinks. Sometimes it went farther, most times it stayed all business.

"I believe that you two had better leave this one alone. I understand she is one tough cookie. Top detective in her department solving homicides. She is not afraid of anyone or anything. She faced some of the worst killers in New York City and never, ever backed down. In fact, I understand she survived a sniper shot to her heart a couple of years ago You might consider giving her some space before she takes you both to the ground"

"Oh I am so scared!" Jess comments with a chuckle without even looking up

The woman just laughs as she walks back to her desk. The two men see Beckett returning to her desk after dropping off her paperwork to the SSA's assistant.

"So Beckett, feel like getting dinner and some drinks after work tonight? You know, get to know one another?" Wellborn asks

"Sorry, guys, but my best friend from back home is here and she and I are meeting later" As Kate looks at her watch she grabs her bag "In fact she should be downstairs right now" And she walks to the elevator never looking back

Watching the enticing Beckett walking away "SO? Best LADY Friend.? Maybe you and I need to make it a double" Ted comments

"Sounds good to me. Let's follow and see where she goes" Jess responds

The two men rush to the elevator and catch the next car and head down to the lobby. Once there, they follow Beckett as she leaves the building. Outside they see another woman waiting for her. Beckett stops and begins talking to Lanie. The two men do not notice that right after Kate and Lanie began talking that Lanie looked over at the two as if Kate had mentioned to her that she was being followed

The two women start walking toward the restaurant area. Kate mentions that there is a nice little Bistro just a block away. Quiet and it's somewhere these two can talk in peace

Once the pair get seated, Lanie starts up on her questions "So girlfriend, how is it been going?"

"Not to bad. The orientation was a total snooze. We covered everything from warrants to arrest reports. I promise if I ever see another Form 8212 I will scream. I thought it was bad in New York with the paperwork. This job makes the 12th seem like a breeze. It makes me wish I was back there already"

"So how many guys have tried to pick up you so far?"

Kate looks down to her hands and blushes a little" Lanie, don't ask such questions. You know I don't like talking about that"

"Well like those two that just walked in, don't ever seem to give up do they?"

Kate glances up from her drink to see the two agents she just met entering the door

"That can't be a coincidence now can it" Parish comments

Beckett smiles at Lanie before looking back down to her glass "Some of them never give up do they?"

"Obviously and especially not these two, because they are heading this way

"Ladies fancy seeing you here" Jess speaks up first. "Kate, who is this lovely lady you are with today?" he continues while indicating Lanie

"Dr. Parish this is Jess Wellborn and… I never got your name" Kate indicates while looking at the other agent

"Hello, I am Ted Harrington. Nice to meet both of you" he extends his hand to Lanie

"Same here. Agent Harrington"

"The name is Ted"

"OK. Ted"

Jeff looks at two empty seats at the table. Do you mind if we join you?"

Kate gives Lanie "The look". The look Beckett gave to Castle so many times when he was coming close to doing something he will wish he never thought about doing

"Of course!" Lanie answers "It will be so nice to have someone else to share the evening with tonight"

Kate gives Lanie a look that tells her that if she had her gun on her right now that the ME would be the next for target practice

Ted starts the conversation "So it's Doctor Parish? PHD, DED, MD?"

"MD. I am a medical examiner in New York. That is how Kate and I know each other. We worked solving crimes together. In fact we have known each other for a long time. A very long time. That is until this job came along and she up and left us all high and dry"

Kate smirks at Lanie

"So then you two have been friends…?" Jeff asks

"Forever" Kate answers

About this time the server comes up to the table to take the orders for the group. He first asks if this is to be one check or separate, the men try to pick up the girl's checks, but Beckett insists that she gets hers and Lanie's and that the men are on their own

Ted looks across to the two "I am old school. It is only proper for a man to pick up the check for the woman"

Beckett looks back at him with fire in her green eyes "Only if the man and woman are on a date" Then Kate says in a stern voice. "This is not a date"

After Kate makes the comment, she realizes these two are not so different than the pick up artists her and Rick encountered a couple of years ago. The only difference is she does not hear Bolero playing anywhere

During the meal the two men are working both women like they have plans for later. Jeff keeps talking to Kate and Ted is applying all of his efforts toward Lanie.

Finally the checks come and again the men try to pick up the tabs, but Beckett is too fast for them. She has done everything to send a message that she is not interested in any of their advances. But she has about decided that these two are going to have to just learn the hard way.

Jeff speaks as they start to get up "Ladies, that was fun. Would you two like to return to my place for drinks?"

"NO! Lanie and I are headed to 'girl talk' back at my place so I will see you on Monday" Kate waves them off as she and Lanie turn toward the Metro station and a train ride home

After they are out of earshot Lanie starts up on Beckett "Girlfriend! I have never seen such a full court press from two men before. Is this what has been going on since you've been here? Every man you see wants to take you home with him?"

"Sometimes it does. I just had no idea how hard that part of my move to DC was going to be. I thought I could just go to work and save the world. I didn't know I would be spending most of my time protecting my own honor"

"Well girlfriend I guess I need to find you a real man to come here and protect you"

"Would you really do that for me Lanie?"

"All you have to do is ask"


	2. Surprise

Back in Kate Beckett's apartment Lanie has brought in her roll around case of clothes. She is just spending two nights with Kate so she did not bring all that much stuff.

"Where do you want me?" Lanie asks

Kate points to the extra bedroom, home office. "In there"

Lanie is looking around as she moves toward the spare bedroom "So this is nice. It's about the same size as your apartment in the city"

"Yeah and it costs about the same, TOO MUCH. All these places are too much. I don't know how some people live in this town. Everything is way too expensive here"

"Kate, since you picked up my dinner ticket, I did not even see what the check came to. How much do I owe you?"

"Lanie, you are my guest while you are here. Just you don't even think about it. Tomorrow, I promise, we will go to the grocery store and I will make dinner her for us. But for tonight, let's get out some wine glasses and have some serious girl talk. I need to know everything going on back in the city"

Lanie goes into the guest room and Kate into her room. They both have changed into much more casual clothes and come back out ready to gossip about anything and everything back in the Big Apple

"All right, Lanie. Spill. I need good stuff about everyone back home"

"Where do you want me to start? Kev, Espo, Gates? Who?"

"How are the future parents? Is Jenny getting big? Or is Kevin having sympathy pains to share with the future mother of his child?"

"Oh you should see Jenny. She has grown but has hardly put on any weight"

Kate responds "I am so jealous. When I get pregnant, I want to be able to do that"

"OH are you telling me about some near in the future event?"

"LANIE!" Kate turns red over that statement "Not any time real soon anyway. OK how is your guy?"

"OH, Javi is fantastic. Gates put him in temporary command of the team and he is really playing it up for all he is worth. He loves being the boss instead of having to be second"

"So Gates is behaving herself?"

"You know the captain. She can be hard as nails. But not all the time. Everyone really thinks she is missing you on the team. She has brought in a new female detective. Her name is Julie Waters and she came in from robbery where she worked for ten years"

"So, how old is she? She sounds like she may be close to my age?"

"She looks about your age. The men in the station seem taken by her. She is a little striking. I had to pull Javi down a notch or two when I found out she was getting a little too friendly with him, but I got him well trained now."

Kate laughs at the comments. She thinks back on how many times events like that occurred in the department. An officer came new into a precinct and other officers got tied up with them. She recalls how she did that herself when she met Tom Demming, but she found out that most of the time getting involved with another police officer just was not enough. At least not enough for her

"So you got your man under control?"

"Yeah. He knows where the line is drawn and he better not cross over it."

The two women continue their reminiscing until Kate notices the time. "If we are going to have time tomorrow to shop and go sight seeing, we better call this a night."

The two women stand and as Lanie starts toward the spare room, Kate comments "Lanie, that room only has a convertible couch that changes into a bed and it is terribly hard, so I want you to take the bed in my room and I will sleep in the spare bed"

"No way girlfriend, you sleep in your own bed where you are comfortable and I can manage"

"Lanie, that bed" pointing toward the master bedroom "is not MY bed. So for me to sleep somewhere else is not a problem. So I insist you take the master and I am taking the spare"

"If you insist, OK" Lanie answers

Lanie gets her bag and takes it into the master bedroom as Kate grabs a couple of items from the linen closet and enters the spare room. Kate turns the couch down into a bed and places the sheets and blanket onto the bed and makes it ready for her to sleep in.

Kate walks to the bedroom door "You got everything you need, Lanie?"

"I think I am great" Lanie responds "Good night girlfriend"

"Good night. I will see you in the morning for breakfast" Kate walks into the spare room and climbs into the horribly uncomfortable bed and she tries to get to sleep. This bed is a long way from the soft comfortable loft bed she shared with Rick. In fact thinking back no bed was ever felt that good. Not the bed, not the company in the bed. Oh is she missing both of them at this moment

* * *

It is 2 am in when the taxi cab pulls up to the apartment building and a man gets out. He has two very large bags he is bringing with him into the building. He takes his key card and swipes the entry reader and opens the front door. He struggles to get the two bags and himself up to the elevator lobby and then selects the button for the desired floor. When he exits the cab he pulls his two large bags toward the apartment door. Once he arrives, he takes out his key and proceeds to enter the unit trying to make a little noise as possible.

He quietly pulls his bags to a spot just inside the door so to not disturb anyone who might be sleeping inside. He quietly walks to the master bedroom and walks inside. Once he has gone in, he can see the outline of the body in the bed making a bulge under the sheets.

He chooses to surprise the current occupant, so he proceeds to enter the bathroom and remove his clothes before entering back into the room. He re enters the bedroom, pulls back the sheet gently and climbs into the bed as gently as he can manage. Once he gets the under the cover, he spoons up to the back of the lady and gently places his arm around her waist. He snuggles up to the back of her head and begins to gently kiss and nibble the skin just behind the ear. He knows this is her special place. That place that gets her juices flowing every time.

But instead of getting the desired response from her, she jumps straight up in bed and screams at the top of her lungs.

Lanie Parish looks over to the side of the bed that was empty. The bed where she WAS alone when she got into it just a few hours ago. But now there is a man trying to fondle her and was just kissing her ear. The look on her face can only be described as terror that quickly changes to shock when she sees who it is that has been munching on her neck

"RICHARD CASTLE! What do you think you are doing?"

"LANIE PARISH! What are you doing in Kate's bed?"

* * *

**I promised different than the rest of the stories**  
**For my faithful readers. It this enough fun for starters?**


	3. Let's Take This Downtown

Kate jumps out of her bed, grabs her service weapon from the night stand, and runs into the master bedroom to try to see what has caused the commotion. To her surprise she finds her best friend and her fiancé in bed together. Under other any other circumstances this might be cause for gunplay or at the very least, severe bodily harm coming to one or both of the offenders But Kate knew Rick was not planning to be home this weekend since he was out of the country for a book tour in Europe and was not due back until late Monday. Therefore he had no idea that he would be climbing into a bed with a woman other than his girl.

"OK! What is going on with you two?" Kate is trying with all of her might to sound and look angry. It is everything she can do not to laugh out loud at the scene in front of her.

Her best friend is still sitting straight up in the bed looking at Kate's future husband with her mouth wide open as if she is still trying to scream but nothing is coming out.

Beckett suddenly realizes that Rick is, shall we say, NOT fully clothed. Kate finds this even funnier

Rick looks down at himself and grabs for the covers. He is attempting to at least stand up with a modest amount of decorum and move himself to the bathroom. He is trying to still maintain some level of modesty. But the fact that Lanie refuses to let go of the sheet and blanket that she is holding up to her neck is creating a major amount of embarrassment in Castle

"Lanie, can I have something to cover up with?" Rick asks with panic in his voice.

Without looking away, Lanie reaches behind Castle and hands him a pillow. Not wanting to prolong the issue, Rick takes the pillow, covers himself and quickly moves toward the bath room, while trying not to display too much of himself and closes the door.

It is at this moment that Beckett finally lets it all out. She issues a laugh that can only be called raunchy. She bends over and is having trouble catching her breath. After Kate's belly laugh finally subsides, she looks up to her best friend who has still not moved from her position on the bed. It is obvious that Lanie does not see the same level of humor in this event that Kate obviously does

"What is so funny Kate?" Lanie finally asks

"You are! I mean you and Castle"

Kate starts laughing again "He had no idea you were even here this weekend. I'm so sorry Lanie. I didn't know he would be back today. He is came back early"

Kate walks to the bathroom door and knocks "Rick. Are you OK?"

"I'll be all right. Just give me a minute to get my heart started again" Castle responds softly

Kate walks back to the bed and sits down next to Lanie. She has a grin on her face like none Lanie ever remembers seeing before

"You know to find your fiancé in bed with your best friend can be quite a shock"

With that statement Lanie gets questioning another look on her face

Then Kate suddenly realizes she called Rick her fiancé

"Girlfriend, did I just hear you call Castle your fiancé?"

Kate ducks her head and a little red appears on her cheeks "Yes. I did say that"

Kate looks back up to Lanie "Rick asked me to marry him."

"Any you said…?"

Kate reaches into her top and pulls out the chain that she has worn since her mother's death. It now contains two rings. One as before was her mother's. A second and much newer ring containing a large contingent of diamonds. Kate unfastens the clasp and removes the engagement ring and then puts it on her left hand. Kate shows her hand to Lanie.

"I said yes"

"Oh my gosh! That is beautiful Kate"

Lanie leans over and hugs Kate then reaches and takes Kate's hand so she can get a better look at the ring. "I am so happy for you. Wow! Sorry for being caught in bed with your future husband"

Kate laughs again. "Now you know what I found so funny about you two in bed. He came home expecting to find me and grabbed you instead. Wait a minute. You didn't enjoy it? DID YOU?"

"I'll never tell!" Lanie says with a laugh

The two women look up to the bathroom when they hear the sound of the door open. Castle pulls the door until just a crack appears and he peeks around. It appears he is making sure that there is not some weapon pointed his way

"Is it safe for me to come out?"

Kate walks to the door and reaches in and grabs Castle's hand and pulls him out into the bedroom.

Castle looks down into Kate's eyes "You're not going to shoot me are you?"

"Don't be silly. I mean I only walked in and found you in bed with another woman. Why would I do something like that? If I've learned anything chasing murderers is that I need to wait until I am in the will before I do that"

Rick looks down into her eyes and sees just one of the reasons he fell in love with her. She can be playful. Well he hopes she is being playful right now

Castle leans down and places a warm kiss onto her. When he pulls back he looks over to Lanie. "Sorry for that scare. I had no idea you were here"

"That's Ok writer boy. That little nibble behind the ear explains a lot to me"

Castle and Beckett both look at her like they are not sure what she is implying

"I understand better now why my girl here keeps you around. I have to say even though it was unexpected, it was nice"

Kate looks back to Rick "You better not have been enjoying that" Then she give him a poke on the arm "Anyway, what are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't be home until Monday night?"

"The last store got cancelled and I was able to leave and come straight home instead of staying the extra two days that the last stop required. I just wanted so badly to be here with you. I have missed you these last two weeks and to surprise you"

"You did surprise me. But I think you surprised Lanie even more"

Castle looks at Lanie finally "Sorry. I hope you weren't too traumatized"

"Look here writer boy. The only trauma I had today was finding out you put a ring on my girl here. A good trauma I will admit, but a trauma"

Rick looks to Kate "you told her?"

Beckett puts an arm around Rick "Yes, I did." She holds her hand up to show Castle the ring "I think we can't hide this like we did our relationship in the beginning"

"You're right" Castle turns to Kate's best friend "Well Lanie. You are the first to know. Kate and I are officially engaged" Rick returns his gaze to Kate

"It's about time you two" is all Lanie can say. Then there is a loud knock on the door

"POLICE! OPEN UP"

The three glance back and forth between them selves.

Kate speaks as she starts toward the door "Just a minute"

Then Rick comments "You might put your gun away before the police enter. They might not take it too lightly seeing a weapon on the night stand."

"Right" As Kate takes her service weapon and places it into the drawer beside the bed

As she approaches the door the officer on the other side speaks loudly again "OPEN UP POLICE"

"Keep your pants on" Kate answers as she reaches the door. She looks thru the peephole to confirm there is in fact an officer on the other side.

When she opens the door there are two officers in the hallway. One on either side of the door jam. Separated so that if whoever opens the door is planning a fight, both officers are not in the same attack zone.

"Ma'am, Is everything all right?"

"Yes. Fine" Kate answers "Why"

"We got a report of a woman screaming at this address"

"No officer, everything is fine. We had a little surprise tonight that caught Lanie off guard"

"Would you mind if we came in to make sure ourselves?"

Kate laughs at the statement from the officer. She remembers very well herself responding to calls of this type when she was in uniform

Beckett looks back to the living area where Lanie and Castle are both standing "Sure come on in"

The two uniformed officers enter the living area and quickly survey the situation to see what possible dangers might exist

"So what is happening here?" The first officer questions

"Kate laughs, "Well, my fiancé just came in from a trip and he scared my best friend here" Kate points to Lanie "when he got into her bed and she screamed when he surprised her…"

"So this man's made unwanted advances?"

"UH! No that's not what I said. He got into bed thinking it was me he was kissing…"

"OK then it was he got into her bed and made sexual advances toward her?"

"No wait. He thought it was me he was in bed with. He was as shocked as she was. Then when I heard her scream I got my service weapon and…"

"OK now we have a gun involved? I think we need everyone to settle down"

"No officer, you don't understand…"

"No I think I understand! What I believe happened here is you caught your boyfriend in bed with your best friend and got out a gun and were planning on using it on them. Right?"

"NO! No I am a federal agent. That is why I have a service weapon"

"Right so now you think you can just take the law into your own hand when your boyfriend .strays?"

"No he is not straying. She was in my bed and I…"

"So now you admit that she was in your bed with your boyfriend?"

"I think we all need to go downtown and try to sort this out" The second officer says as the first officer takes out his handcuffs and starts to put them on Kate.


	4. Return to normal ?

**All the chapters can't be funny. So lets just make this one fluff. Ok?**

* * *

A Saturday morning spent at the Metro Police Headquarters is not what Kate, Rick or Lanie had in mind this weekend. Trying to tell the detectives what happened between the three of them took some careful explaining. As Beckett well knew, police officers do not always see the humor in unplanned events like what this trio did.

But several hours of repeating the course of events, the local police decided that they were actually dealing with three close friends and lovers who were just caught up in an unfortunate sequence of events that could not have happened even if they had planned them

It is around noon when they finally get back to the apartment and go inside.

Lanie speaks up first "I think I need to go to a hotel since I believe you two might want to be alone this week end"

"No Lanie, you are staying right here" Kate comments

Rick looks over to his future and gives her a look of 'What?'

"We can close the door and you can just ignore the sounds coming from the bedroom. Right?" Kate snaps

"I don't think I could do that to you two. I will go to a hotel tonight"

"Actually Lanie, this building has a guest suite. Let me call down and see if it's available" Rick states as he takes out his phone

Kate and Lanie walk to the kitchen "I am so sorry this week end has been so crazy, Lanie. I really did think Rick would not be back until Monday"

"That's OK girlfriend. This way I got the scoop on your engagement. Now I need all the details. What happened? The last time you and I talked about this job you indicated you had to choose between the job and Castle and you were leaning to the job."

Kate looks off in the distance like she is trying to think up a good answer

"Lanie, when I talked to you I was scared. I mean really scared. Rick and I are in a relationship like I have never in my life had. I was always running away because I didn't want to be hurt ever again"

Kate starts looking up at Castle who is still on the phone "But he wouldn't let me run. I went to tell him I was taking the job here fully expecting for him to dump me right then and there because of it. But…He…"

She pauses "Lanie, he loves me. I mean really loves me even with all my faults. And I love him. So instead of telling me goodbye he proposed and I almost passed out from lack of oxygen. He said he wants me no matter what I did. No mater what I decided. So here I am and here he is and here is my ring"

She holds her hand up again as she looks at the band as if there were some magic power surrounding the gold on her hand.

"Have you talked about the official announcement of the engagement?"

"Only briefly. He had to leave for this European book tour almost immediately. So no, we have not scheduled any announcement yet Of course Martha and Alexis know and my dad knows" Kate chuckles again

"Now what is so funny?"

"I also talked to my dad before I took the job. I thought Castle would hate me and dad asked my why I always ran away into my job instead of a relationship. He knew how deep I really was in this one with Rick. Deeper than I have ever been in my life. But guess what? I love being in this deep now"

Castle walks back up to the girls "It's all set up. Lanie you can stay in the guest suite down on the first floor."

"Good, let me get my things together and go down there. I want to rest a little before we go anywhere. You kept me up way too late last night and I am sure you two would like to get some rest yourselves. HA!HA!" Lanie responds with a chuckle in her voice

After Lanie leave the apartment Kate and Rick are finally alone.

"So Mr. Mystery Writer, how was Europe?"

"Not too bad except I was lonely. Very lonely. I missed you so much" Rick puts his arms around Kate

"Yeah. Me too" She responds "Rick I never thought about what would have happened had I taken this job and left you behind but these last two weeks while you were gone showed me just how empty my life would have been. Please promise me you will never go away?"

"NO, no, Never, never"

Kate puts her head down on his shoulder as they walk toward the bedroom to rest (Yeah, Right)

Saturday evening Rick and the love of his life along with Kate's best friend travel the streets of Washington DC looking at the sights and taking in the monuments and attractions that make this city so beautiful.

The three return to the apartment after a nice dinner and spend a few hours consuming a bottle of wine and discussing the world and what they would do to fix it all. Long after the shadows of nightfall have passed and the moon has risen, Rick tells the two women that he is sill suffering from jet lag and that it is time from him to call it a night. He gives both of the ladies a kiss. One on the cheek and the other full and passionate.

"I will see you in the morning" Rick bids them good night

Lanie and Kate continue their visit until past midnight when both of them decide is time to retire for the evening.

After Lanie leaves the apartment to return to her guest suite, Kate walks thru the bedroom and into the bath where she changes into her shorts and comfy top. She steps up to the bed and acting like he always has, she stares down at the sleeping person in the bed before slipping in beside him. She feels the warmth under the covers that she has been missing for these last two weeks. She quickly passes into that deep slumber that this relationship has provided to her

Sunday morning breaks and the three go into Georgetown to have breakfast at a French themed café. They walk around for a few hours until the time arrives that Lanie has to catch her flight back to New York.

After returning to the apartment to gather her bag, Rick and Kate drive their visitor to the airport. At check-in the two women start planning a return trip from Kate to Lanie so these two can get started on planning a wedding.

"Lanie, please don't tell anyone yet. Rick and I have to do some other scheduling about this. Paula has to be involved since Rick is a little bit of a celebrity, she needs to work out an official announcement"

"You got it girlfriend" Lanie responds then she walks over to Castle

"You keep taking care of my girl. You hear me writer boy?" She gives Rick a kiss and a hug

"Loud and Clear!" Castle responds

As the pair drive off Rick looks over to his fiancé "So are we ready to announce to the world we are who we are?"

Kate still has a little of her old fears buried deep inside. Those fears that have in the past made her question the relationship she has with Castle. Those fears that she is not enough for him. Those questions of why, after all the other women he has known in his life, does he want her over all the others.

But when she looks at him she sees in his face the love for her that just fills every part of his being. This man that at one time said to her that "None of them were YOU!"


	5. Do you know what you think you know?

**Enough fluff everyone. Back to the silly**

* * *

Monday morning brings a new week for Special Agent Beckett. Not only a new week in her new job but she and her future husband have decided to no longer hide the fact that they are engaged

Today Kate is wearing her engagement ring on the third finger of her left hand for the first time in public. It is there for everyone to see. No more carrying it on the chain around her neck hidden from view but now proudly on view.

She walks up to her desk and places her bag down. Sitting at the adjacent desk is her co worker, Jess Wellborn. Looking over a file on his desk.

Beckett speaks "Hey Jess"

He reacts the moment he hears her voice "Good morning Kate. Great to see you today. How was your weekend?"

Kate does not even look his direction, but continues to take things from her bag and places them on her desk.

"Mine went absolutely great. How was yours?"

He continues to watch her as she removes personal items from her carry all

."Oh I was a little bored. The hockey game didn't go the way I wanted it to. The Maple Leaves won."

He realizes that there is something different with Beckett but he just can't quite put a finger on it. He continues to watch her as she finishes her customization of the desk. After she finishes, she puts the empty bag in the drawer and then turns toward the supervisor's office. She can see the door is open so she tells Jess "I am going to check in with the boss" Then she walks toward the opposite end of the floor.

After she steps away Ted Harrington walks to Jess' desk "Well, still no luck with her, huh?"

"No, in fact she seems colder today than she did on Friday. You know like there has been a change in her over the weekend. I can't put a finger on it but I can tell she is even more stand offish than before"

Ted comments "All right when she gets back, I will try to talk to her again and see if maybe we can do lunch. That would be perfect. You know her first full day, teach her the ropes, tell her how the programs work around here, the packing order and so forth."

"The only pecking order either one of you two are going to get is when she drops you two on the ground after a spin kick" Agent Allen says as she walks up to these pair of agents who are still trying to figure out how to get connected with Kate

"If you boys haven't figured it out yet you are dumber than a box of rocks. She is NOT interested in either one of you. Don't you see it?"

"Oh come on Barbs give us some credit. We have just begun. We just need a little more time to break the ice."

"OK if you two don't know when someone is not available and not interested and you have not figured out that it's time to back off, I will just let you both makes fools of yourselves"

Ted looks in the direction where Kate has gone "What do you mean not available? How do you know she is not available?"

"Did either one of you look at he left hand?"

Jess responds "Yeah I did. I looked Friday when she first showed up. No ring. That is how we need to know."

Barbara comments "So you didn't look just now? Well I did. And there is an engagement ring that would rival the Hope diamond on her hand. I don't remember ever seeing an engagement ring that big except in television commercials"

"WHAT?" Jess comments "I looked on Friday and she did not have a ring on her hand"

I looked too "Ted also comments

"Guess what? Today she does. My guess is that she got engaged over the weekend. That probably explains why she was so cold to both of you on Friday. She knew the question was coming probably Friday night and she did not want the two of you around"

"That also explains why she seems different today. She has become committed to someone…?" Jess' voice trails off and he seems honestly stunned by the thought he has just popped into his head

Ted looks over to his partner "You are not thinking what I'm thinking are you?"

"Yeah I am. It can't be. Tell me it can't be?" Jess answers

Barbara is watching these two carrying on a lopsided conversation "what are you two talking about. Do you know something about Beckett you are not sharing?"

Ted finally looks at the woman agent "Friday when we last saw Beckett, she was with another woman. She met this woman downstairs. A woman Beckett said was from New York. She said they had been best friends forever. They said that they were spending the entire weekend together."

Jess finishes the other agent's thoughts "This means that Beckett and this other woman UH a Dr. Parish I believe are…"

"A couple" Ted says

"Are you two saying that Beckett and this Dr. Parish woman are engaged? As in they are a…a couple?"

Ted answers "It all fits. Beckett would not have anything to do with either of us. In fact neither would Parish. They said that they were spending the entire weekend together catching up. Beckett leaves here on Friday with nothing on her hand and today she has an engagement ring. And a big one like a doctor could afford"

Jess completes the thought "I think we all know how this finishes"

"Yeah we do. Here she comes" Ted is looking in the direction from where Kate is returning.

Kate sees the woman agent for the first time "Hello, I am Kate Beckett" As she puts her hand out toward the other woman

"Good to meet you Agent Beckett I am Barbara Allen. I am the senior agent of this team" as she points to the two men who are both now trying hard to look at Beckett's left hand to see the ring that Barbs was describing

"Agent Allen I was told I would be working with you this week until some other organization issues get worked out"

"Yeah Agent Beckett. I was also informed of the arrangement. Well, once you get settled, please come over to my desk and we will go over some ground rules. In the mean time don't let these two agents bother you too much. They are completely harmless"

"Thank you Agent Allen and please call me Kate."

"Everyone calls me Barbs" The senior agent comments just before walking away

Kate finally sits down at her desk and is arranging her pens, telephone, and keyboard when she realizes that the two men are just sitting at their desks not moving. She turns to Wellborn and asks "Everything all right Jess?"

Beckett speaking to him caught him a little off guard but brought him out of his trance. He had not realized he was just sitting at his desk staring at Beckett

"Oh sorry, yes everything is fine. And how is everything with you?"

"Good"

"So did you and your friend have a good weekend?"

"Yes, it was wonderful"

"Well, did anything special happen this weekend?"

Kate lets out a small laugh "Yes we had a great weekend. Actually I did have a giant surprise happen on Friday night"

Ted, sitting at his desk and looking at her ring thinks "Yeah! A GIANT surprise


	6. A New Castle Fan

**Have no fear. I am keeping the fun in this just like it I promised  
**

**But This chapter is neither fluff nor funny. It is just information.**  
**I am filling in some blanks.**

* * *

Richard Castle is in the study of the DC apartment that he and Kate are sharing. He is working on some outline details for the next book when his cell phone rings.

Caller ID says it's Paula. He picks up

"Hey Paula"

"Rick there is some rumor going around here in New York that you just might be off the market. Can you confirm for me that you are NOT?"

"Not what? Off the market or that I am Not, not off the market?"

"Rick, don't play dumb. Have you and Beckett finally completely closed the gap between you two?"

Rick smiles into the phone "Paula I need you to compose a news release containing the following information. Katherine Houghton Beckett, daughter of the Jim Beckett and the late Johanna Beckett and Richard Edgar Castle, son of actress Martha Rogers announce their engagement. So can you work that out somehow without making it sound too salacious?"

Castle can hear Paula cheering on the other end of the phone

"It is about time Rick. I will tell you that everyone here will be so happy that this finally happened. I just need the date of the proposal so I can see if I won the pool or not"

Castle can't help but smile "Funny! So Paula will you let me know when you want to try to do the press release? I don't want some reporters jumping on Kate out of the blue with a bunch of questions. I want to make sure we are both prepared. Her especially"

Castle listens for a few more seconds "OK, Friday afternoon? Perfect. What? You want Kate and me there when you do this?" I will have to get a hold of her and make sure that she can be off. You know she just took this new special task force job working for the Attorney General of the US? I am not sure they will let her take Friday off for something like this"

He listens for another minute "All right. I can do that. If there is a problem, I will call you back. Great! Goodbye Paula" Castle hangs up the phone and immediately dials Kate's cell number. Her phone goes immediately to voice mail

Castle remembers that she said they were having some type of a meeting this morning and she would be tied up until about lunch time. He told her he would try to drop by and maybe they could catch a bite if she could get free. She told him that would be fantastic and she really will enjoy that.

Castle jumps into the Ferrari and heads to the office building where Kate is now stationed. He understands that she is assigned to a temporary group until the Ag's office finished the set up for the special teams that she is to be a part of.

Once he arrives at the building he locates the floor where she is stationed and walks out of the elevator onto a floor filled from one to the other with desks. What he sees is not what he was expecting for this special elite team that she was to be apart of.

As he is looking around the floor appearing like he is lost, he is approached by a woman. "Can I help you?"

"Yes ma'am. I am looking for Agent Katherine Beckett"

"Sir, she is in a meeting in another building right now. Is there something I can help you with?"

"No thank you I just need to see Agent Be…" before Rick can finish the sentence he hears a voice from his past

"RICK! Richard Rogers! What are you doing here?"

When he hears his given name Castle spins around and comes face to face with one of his former college classmates, Victor Gonzales

"VIC?" Castle is obviously surprised at the site of someone who knew him in his former life

"Richard how are you? What are you doing here?" Then the director turns to his assistant. "It's OK Rick and I are old friends. He and I go way back. Mary, you can go back to your duties"

"Yes sir" His assistant Mary Murphy says as she walks back toward her desk

"Rick. Like I said, what in the world are you doing here today?

"I came by looking for Agent Beckett. But I understand she isn't here today"

"No, she and the team she is assigned to are at another building doing an after action report"

"Do you know when she will be back?" Castle asks the former friend who now appears to be in charge

"It won't be too long. They do these reports after every big assignment"

Castle acknowledges the statement as he is glancing around at the crowded floor

"But Rick what have you been up to. I lost track of you after college. I often wondered what you ended up doing with your life. I know you considered journalism. Did you stay in that?"

"Actually Vic I ended up publishing several mystery books"

"Really? I don't have a giant library of books, but I can't recall seeing your name on any of them"

"I don't use the Rogers name anymore. I changed my professional name to Richard Castle when I started selling my novels"

"Castle?...Castle? OH! Yes, I know now. You wrote the Derrick Storm stories. I read some of them. Rick they were great"

"Thanks Vic. That's me. But I also wrote the Nikki Heat novels"

"OH Right! I remember now Nikki Heat!. She's the flaming hot homicide detective"

He seems to have a glint in his eye

"When that first book came out several of my friends commented that they would love to meet her. Someone said that she is a real detective in New York? I mean the detective you based the book on. Is that true?"

"Yes it is true. In fact you have already met her/ Nikki Heat was based on Kate Beckett"

"Seriously? Agent Beckett is Nikki Heat! Wow I had no idea."

"Vic, do me a favor. She doesn't like to have a lot of attention put on her about the book so if you would not bring it up around a lot of other people."

"Sure Rick, I can so that"

"So Vic you joined the Attorney Generals office?"

"No Rick this is not the AG's group. We are FBI and I am the director of this unit. We work on serial killer cases or if a small department asks for help on a plain old murder case, we run to the rescue. That is why I was so glad to see Beckett here. She has a history of solving murder cases".

"So Kate is attached to a homicide type unit for now?"

"That is what we do so to help get her up to speed she is on this debrief today even though she was not involved in the incident, the team always goes in as a group in case something comes up and one of them remembers a detail that needs to be included in the final report .Being there today gives her a taste of how the reporting systems works so on her cases, she knows how it works"

But is this done the same as the AG's unit? I mean do they do it the same way? So when she gets over to the AG's special team won't they do it differently?"

"The director looks at Castle with a question on his face "Rick there is no special AG unit. It was decided to defund the group about two weeks ago and disband everyone that was already assigned. Everyone attached to that group were re assigned to the FBI, CIA or NSA depending on their transfer request. Since Beckett had not completed orientation, she was sent to me. I thought she knew that she was being transferred here and there was no special task force anymore? It is gone"

"No Vic. She has said nothing about it. Are you sure she was told?"

"Well almost positive. Let's go in my office and check the file"

The two old friends go to the director's office. He sits at his terminal and pulls up Beckett's file and begins looking at the document compliance sheet. After he looks over the file for a minute he looks up at Castle

"Rick it appears that the notification was never made to her. There is no confirming document here. I will print one to get her to sign it as a record of understanding"

"Vic are you telling me that he job that was offered in the AG's office no longer exists and Kate was assigned to an FBI homicide unit without her knowledge?"

"That might be the case. It does seem that there is no special job anymore. Is that a problem?"

"I think it just might be" Rick answers

Just then the director's phone rings "Yes Mary….OK put them through" He pauses just a minute while the call is connected"

"Director Gonzales" he listens "Yes Captain Gates" He pauses again while information is given to him "Yes Captain, I will assign my best team and they will be up there tonight and I will have them report first thing in the morning. Good by"

The director turns to Castle "Sorry, Rick I need to get the team sent to New York. They evidently have a serial murder. They discovered 12 bodies in a shallow grave in one of the burrows. I have to get the team Beckett is assigned to heading that way to get started on this. Can we talk more later?"

"Sure Vic" Castle says out loud then he thinks to himself. 'I definitely will be having more conversations about her job later'

Richard Castle walks back outside and to his parked Ferrari. He gets in the high performance vehicle and drives back toward their apartment. He does not realize that the Black SUV that just passed him going the other direction contained his girl along with her co workers

"WOW I wonder who is driving that thing?" Ted Harrington comments when he sees the bright Red sports car outside their building

Jess is driving so he is trying to pay attention to the road and not his partner's lust of the car, but they get stopped by the signal light so he gets to eye the vehicle himself for a minute.

Then just as the light changes a man exits the building and approaches the car to get in. Agent Barbara Allen's face lights up and she says "That's the writer Richard Castle! What is he doing in our building?"

They pass Castle as he is getting into his car. Barbara Allen looks back like a high school girl with a crush

"I love his books. I have wanted to meet him for along time. I wonder who is was seeing inside. Maybe he will be coming back."

This entire time the rest are carrying on about Castle, Beckett is sitting in the back seat, smiling, and casually looking at her ring. Inside her head she knows EXACTLY who he was there to see.


	7. Home Again Home Again Jiggity Jig

After leaving the FBI office, Castle arrives back at their apartment and goes inside just as his cell rings. Caller ID says it's Kate Beckett

"Hey Love" He answers

"Hey yourself. I saw you leaving the building earlier today. Did you come to see me?"

"Of course I came to see you. I wanted to take my girl to lunch. You know show you off to the residents of DC"

"So you're not embarrassed to be seen with me?"

"You know better than that. I am ready to show you to the world"

What Castle can't see is Kate is blushing at his comment

"Listen, I have to come home and pack some clothes. I am being sent somewhere to deal with a serial murder I understand"

"Well I know some more about that. Your boss and I went to college together. In fact we were in the Gun Club together our last two years there"

"You were in a Gun Club? So you were on a shooting team? That explains why you are such a good shot"

"Yes, I guess it does. But there is a murder in New York and that's where they are sending you. But Kate, we need to talk about our engagement announcement and some other things too."

"What other things?" Kate questions

"Well first off, Paula is setting up a press release to announce our engagement and she wants both of us there for it. She wants to do it on Friday. So with you having to go to New York anyway it works out perfect. We can do the announcement while we or rather you work the murders"

"OH!" is all Beckett replies

"Are you ok Kate?"

"Yeah I mean it's all still a little unnerving for me. You know all the press and stuff. I guess I will have to get accustomed to all this Right?"

"Kate, I will not force you to be there if you don't want to be. Paula can deal with them if you don't want to face the reporters. If you don't want to, I understand"

"No Castle. It's OK. I will have to face them sooner or later. But look I'm almost back to the apartment. I'll be right up. Bye" And Beckett hangs up the call

Castle did not get a chance to tell her what he found out about her job. He figures he will just have to tell her when she gets up here. Before he realizes it, she is entering the front door. Castle steps over to his girl and put his arms around her and pulls her to his chest for a kiss

"I need to tell you what Vic told me." The seriousness in his voice tells Kate that everything is not exactly all right

"What's going on Castle?"

"Victor and I were just talking about you and your job and I asked about how long it would be before you were transferred to the task force"

"And what did he say?"

"He said the task force was disbanded about two weeks ago and it no longer exists. Kate, there is no task force. That is what Vic told me"

Rick can feel Kate sag in his arms. Beckett looks up to Castle's face with obvious pain in her eyes "What does that mean for me and my job? What happened? I don't understand"

"He said they were supposed to have told you that you about this but he said that evidently they didn't and that you will need to decide what you want to do. The unit you are assigned to right now is FBI and they are basically what you were doing back at the 12th."

"I came here to be on a special elite task force and now you are telling me there is not one now? All right Rick, please tell me everything else you know."

"That's all I know about your job right now. Did he tell you where you are flying out to right now?"

"No! He just said to pack for 5 days and go to the airport where we will catch a business jet"

"The murders are in New York. I was there when he go a call from Gates. It is something about 12 bodies found in a shallow grave"

"Seriously Castle? I am going to investigate murders at my old precinct? Really?"

"That's what it sounds like. Do you want to go with me? I am going to fly up there to be with you and I can do a couple of other things while I'm there"

"No. Let me fly up there with them, but I'll stay at the loft with you. So meet me there. OK?"

"You got it" Castle responds.

Then Rick helps Kate get packed.

When they leave their apartment, they share a taxi to the airport. Rick has charted a private jet to take him to the city and again asks Kate to join him, but she says that she is going to fly with the team to see if she can get more information about what happened to the task forge job.

After Castle is dropped off at the executive terminal, Kate rides the cab over to the special terminal reserved for government transport

Once inside the terminal, Kate locates the other three agents and joins them at the departure area. Agent Allen tells Kate they are waiting for the plane to arrive from the service hanger where it is being prepared for flight.

After sitting down Kate turns to the senior agent and starts asking questions "Agent Allen, what do you know about the AG's Special Task Force? I was supposed to be one of their agents. That is why I am here. I did not come to DC to be working for the FBI and definitely not doing homicides in New York where I came from"

"Agent Beckett. All I really know is you were assigned to me as a field operative because of your experience of clearing homicides with the NYPD. I understand you had the highest closure rates in New York"

"That may be true, but coming to DC I was changing jobs. I was planning on doing something new and different with my life. I mean this job is after another life changing event in my life. I had other moves going on and I thought that the task force job change would be also something different for me to tackle."

Listening to this conversation are Agents Harrington and Wellborn. Both men sitting quietly but thinking about the changes she is referring to in her life. Like the fact she is sporting a diamond ring that rivals the crown jewels.

Ted leans overt o Jess "New and Different? Right!"

Both men laughing cause Barbara to comment "What's so funny you two?"

"Oh nothing boss" Ted answers in a similar manor to what Esposito might do to Kate

The jet arrives at the gate and the four climb aboard. They taxi out and are airborne very quickly heading to the Big Apple. After they reach cruising altitude the captain comes on the PA and announces the flight will arrive in only 45 minutes. This is much quicker than a commercial airplane can make the hop.

Once on the ground they leave the terminal Agent Allen leads the group toward a black SUV waiting for them near the doors. But before they can get to the vehicle, Beckett stops "You go ahead. I have somewhere else I can stay while we are here. I know where the station is and can get there myself in the morning."

Agent Allen turns to Beckett "Agent Beckett, we have a hotel for us to stay in"

"I know. Sorry Barbs. I have a much nicer place I want stay. Remember this is my home town and I have special people here. So call me if you need me otherwise I will meet you at the 12th in the morning" As Kate climbs into a taxi and gives the driver the address of the loft. The other three agents stand by and watch as Beckett heads out in the taxi.

Agent Harrington finally speaks "I can tell you exactly where she is heading. Her fiancé is a medical examiner here and that is where she is going to be staying while we work this case"

"Yes. I guarantee that is where she is spending her time. She'll be with Lanie!" Wellborn sighs

As the taxi pulls out Kate leans her head back, takes her phone out of her jacket and types a message and sends it to Castle

* * *

Rick has finally arrived back at the loft. He has been here several times during the last month since Kate took the DC job. He has been jumping in between the apartment in DC and home. He has had to come back to the city for a few business reasons. The Old Haunt needed some serious plumbing repairs. He had a newspaper interview about what he is planning for his next big case in the Nikki Heat series. It just seems that there is always some reason he has needed to be back here. But no reason was big enough for him to send more than two days away from the love of his life.

Now for the rest of this week they will both be here where everything feels the best. The Loft.

Rick hears the chime from his phone that announces that there is a message. He takes the cell from his pocket and opens the inbound message box. A smile appears on his lips as he reads the text

"on my way home .Run me a bath. Take your clothes off and meet me in the tub. LUV U"


	8. A Real Murder

**More serious stuff**  
**NO Angst**  
**I hate Angst. A little fluff thrown in**

**OH! Wait . We do need to watch out for the new detective**

* * *

Tuesday Morning 6:00 am

The alarm clock starts with a low hum that slowly builds louder and louder until it reaches a point that awakens Richard Castle. He was sleeping so soundly this time in his own bed in his loft with his Kate beside him. What started back so many months ago and continues today and moving toward their Always. He turns and silences the alarm so to let her sleep a few more minutes.

But for just this moment he wants to savor. He wants to just watch her sleep. Just to look. Just to admire the beautiful woman beside him curled under the covers. Her hair spread over the pillow. He can tell by the relaxed muscles of her face, she has received a full night of restful sleep. And he gets to begin another day of just being in her presence

He set the coffee maker to begin brewing automatically just minutes before the alarm time. This way the coffee will be fresh when they get up. The aroma invades the bedroom and he sees her begin to stir.

Her eyes open to see him leaned on his elbow just looking at her

"Hey Castle"

"Hey"

"It's still creepy"

"I know"

"But you don't care do you?" She says thru a smile

"No. I would rather be called creepy instead of ignoring you"

Kate reaches over to Castle's ear and pulls him down to her face and gives him a kiss.

"It's just better in our own bed, isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Are you hungry?"

"Famished" Kate replies as Rick hears her stomach growl

"Bacon and eggs on the way" Castle responds as he moves to stand up.

While he prepares breakfast for Kate, she starts getting ready. It is so much easier for her to get ready in this bathroom that the one in the apartment in DC.

By the time Kate has brushed her teeth Castle is at her side her holding a cup of her morning coffee. She looks into the mirror at this impossible man who will do anything for her and she is thinking 'how did this even happen'

Richard Castle is holding a cup of coffee for his girl, looking at her in the mirror and he is thinking 'how did this even happen'

"Breakfast will be ready by the time you get dressed"

Kate smiles at the reflection "Thank you"

Castle turns on his heels and rushes back to the kitchen to finish the morning meal. By the time he plates up the eggs and butters the toast, Kate is exiting the bedroom and walking to the table. Castle puts the breakfast down in front of Kate and returns to get her another cup of coffee. When he returns, he brings himself a plate and sits down next to her.

"Kate, are you going to wait to hear from your new boss or you going to just go on in?"

"I thought I would just go in and visit until the rest of the team arrives. What are you doing today?"

"I am meeting Gina down at Black Pawn then I thought I would come down to the station. Maybe visit, get lunch for everyone like before"

One tiny problem hits Kate with the 'meeting Gina' comment. If she weren't Castle's second wife, Kate would feel much better. "Oh you're meeting with your ex wife…?"

"…and publisher, at her office with Paula and Gina's assistant. You know there is nothing there anymore, Kate"

"I know. It's just... Well there was something there at one time"

"Kate. Was is the key word here. You are my forever"Rick leans over and kisses Beckett. "Do you need me to call you a cab?"

"No can I take the Ferrari?"

Castle looks over at his girl as he realizes what she is doing "OH! You Evil, Evil woman, you! Are you planning on making the others jealous?"

Kate puts on one of her grins "Maybe?"

"Sorry. I left the Ferrari in DC."

"Kate puts a fake frown on her face

Rick is smiling as he walks over to the cabinet and gets out the keys and hands them to her

Kate takes the key from Rick then she looks at it with a questioning look "This isn't the keys to the Ferrari"

"No. It's the keys to your new Jag"

"What do you mean my new Jag? A Jaguar?"

"Yes I bought you a little engagement present. A bright red Jag. All your own. It's downstairs in your parking space. Fueled up and ready for you to drive yourself to work"

"RICK!" She screams as she jumps into his arms. Then she looks back to the keys. "Mine? Really?"

"Yes dear girlfriend. It is just a little gift to say how happy you make me"

Kate covers her mouth with her hands to keep from screaming again. "Can I go drive it?"

"Of course you can go drive it. It's yours"

He smiles as he looks at his very happy fiancé "Now play nice with the other kiddies today OK? And I will see you at lunch"

"Rick. I Love you"

"Love you too"

As Beckett runs out of the loft and down to the parking garage to find her car

* * *

Tuesday morning at the precinct the elevator bell rings and a familiar event occurs.

Katherine Beckett exit onto the 4th floor toward the bull pin. She is carrying a cup of coffee just like before. Just like it was before she closed the distance between her and the detectives' desks

Kevin Ryan is the first to see her "Beckett!" He says loudly good to see you

"Hey Kev" Kate says "Where's Espo?"

"I'm right here" Javi steps up from behind the pair "What are you doing here?"

"I am assigned to a murder case you have. Twelve bodies in on grave?" Beckett answers

"I thought you were on some special task force or something" Ryan asks

"That is an entire new story. I'll explain it when I figure it out" Kate tells the pair

"Are you the only one here for this from the FBI?" Esposito asks

"No, there are three more coming. They stayed at a hotel last night. I really thought they might already be here"

"Right! And you didn't stay at the hotel did you? You had a much better place to stay I'll bet." Ryan states while grinning

The elevator bell rings again and the three other FBI agents step out onto the floor. Kate turns to the boys. "Come on and I will introduce you to them" Beckett, Ryan and Esposito start toward the other three

Kate starts the introductions "Detectives Kevin Ryan, Javier Esposito. This is agents Barbara Allen, Ted Harrington, and Jess Welbourne"

The five people shake hands and exchange hellos Agent Allen speaks first "So these are the detectives you used to work with?"

"These are the best detectives in New York"

At these words a female voice is heard "The best? You should include me in that"

Beckett turns around to come face to face with a female detective she has never met before. For a moment Beckett feels like she is looking into a mirror. This woman is almost as tall as Kate. Probably 5'8" Long slender legs just like Kate, long brunette hair just like Kate. An olive complexion just like Kate. This woman in every way appears to be a doppelganger of Beckett

Esposito is the first to speak "Everyone this is Detective Julie Waters. She transferred in from robbery to fill in for Beckett."

Beckett repeats the introductions of the FBI agents.

Waters reaches out and shakes the hands then states "Good to meet everyone. Hey did anyone see the brand new bright red Jag down in the garage?"

Ryan responds "No I have not. Who around here can afford a Jag?"

Kate smiles and Esposito notices "Oh! I know who's in the Jag. Right?"

"It's mine" Beckett answers with a giant smile on her face. "It was a little gift from my someone special"

With this conversation the two male FBI agents look at one another knowing exactly who gave this to Beckett. It had to be her fiancé, Lanie

"Way to go Beckett" Ryan comments just as Captain Gates steps up to the group interrupting the conversation.

Beckett speaks again "Everyone this is Captain Victoria Gates. She is the chief on this unit." And again Beckett gives the introductions

Agent Allen looks at the captain "Ma'am we would like to get started as soon as possible. Where can we set up?"

Gates, in her normal take charge attitude, states "We can go into the large conference room"

Once inside the room everyone sits at a large table. There is a map on the wall marked with a few map pins and notes written around them. Lining the edges are photographs showing skeletal remains Esposito begins the briefing

"Three days ago a construction worker digging to locate a broken cable television line found what appeared to be a human bone. He called his supervisor who in turn called the police. The first unit on the scene determined it probably was human and called the ME and us. When I arrived Dr. Parish had already begun examining the first few bones recovered. She then realized that there were at least three different sets of remains. She brought in a second team from her office, we called in extra help. Over the next two days we located and recovered bones from twelve different victims"

"Twelve different people? Was Lanie able to determine gender?" Beckett asks

"Yes they were all male between the ages of twenty and twenty-five."

Agent Harrington asks "Do you have a cause of death?"

"Yes. Everyone had a gun shot to the back of the head, execution style. This was a hit" Ryan states

"A large scale hit" Agent Allen comments

"Or an execution" Beckett adds

"They evidently were tied up. Both hands and feet"

Ryan continues the report "There are two interesting things about this case. One is that the bodies had been in the ground for long time. It is estimated between fifteen and eighteen years"

"What?" Beckett asks "Over a decade? Where you able to find missing person's reports on them?"

"That is the other interesting part of this. We went back twenty years and found nothing on them. No missing person's reports were ever filed. None at all"

"How do a dozen young men go missing and no one reports it?" Jess questions

Beckett comments "There must have been some type of deep cover up happening here"

* * *

**Sorry! But I had to put a murder in here. After all the story is called Beckett's first case.**


	9. Let The Games Begin

**Now that I have seen the photos from the swings for S6E01 I am feeling much better.  
But I still like being silly**  
**So, here is more silly**

* * *

Agent Allen has been taking note on all the information that was just presented.

"Everyone listen up. Let's get started on the evidence gathering. I want Agents Hamilton and Wellborn to go to the crime scene and supervise evidence gathering. Agent Beckett, I want you to go to the medical examiner's office and supervise the autopsy"

Kate obviously does not like the attitude presented by the senior agent. She is telling Beckett to do this job if she thinks that Lanie can't get the job done properly without supervision.

She turns toward the station chief "Captain Gates, I will stay here and set up the command post. Is there anyone who can help me get do that?"

"I will assign Detective Waters to assist with that" The captain answers "What do you want detectives Ryan and Esposito doing?"

"Have them review police reports for the time period that these men went missing and try to find something, anything that might explain when they went missing, who they were or why they were killed. There has to be some report around the estimated time of death that will help identify them and why they were killed"

Agent Allen looks at her notes "Very well then! The tech people are on their way to set up the computers, so let's get cracking people"

Agents Harrington and Wellborn walk to the elevator as Kate steps over beside Ryan and Esposito

"So guys give me the real skinny on this case?

Beckett. We came up empty. Since no one reported any missing persons we have been at a loss to explaining how 12 men get killed, buried and it is all never reported. Just like it never happened. Makes no sense" Esposito explains

"Kate, we already looked at the old files over and over" Ryan states "I don't know how going over it all again is going to help. There are simply no missing person reports that explain the bodies. But we will do it all again if that's what your boss wants. But one thing" Ryan looks around to see where Agent Allen is, then points toward the break room then the three walk that way

"We thought you were going to work for the Attorney General, not the FBI"

Beckett has obvious anger in her face "The job vanished about two weeks ago and I got bumped to the FBI without even discussing it with me. Now I wish I were back here. I mean what they asked me to do today is exactly what I would have been doing anyway. What's the difference?"

Esposito is keeping an eye on Agent Allen then he asks "So Beckett, Castle got you a new car?"

Kate shyly smiles. This is something new for her. Before Rick came along she had no emotional reason to feel the way she does now. But now she likes it

"Yeah he did"

"Some special reason for that?"

Kate looks around again to make sure no one is listening or watching. She holds up her left hand for the two detectives to see. Both men have looks of total shock combined with happiness

"Beckett! It's about time" Espo says first

"WOW!" Beckett "That is some rock you got there" Ryan finishes

"Congratulations" Both men say in unison

"Please guys don't say anything. There is going to be a formal announcement on Friday. Paula is doing a press release and until then we are keeping it quiet"

"No problem" Ryan states

"Well, I better go do what my boss says so I don't get into trouble" Kate says with a little bit of low tone in her voice "And I'll let you guys know more about the engagement announcement later. I want both of you to be there. You have been mine and Rick's strongest supporters for over these last five years. I really want you two to be with us"

"You got it" Esposito answers

Beckett leaves the room and heads out to the morgue to see Lanie

* * *

Shortly after Beckett leaves the building, the 4th floor of the precinct is filled with FBI technical support teams. Bringing in computer monitors, stringing network connections, rolling in large flat panel televisions. Generally making the former bull pin into an FBI Computer Central. The feds seem to think that it takes a team of technicians with a mass of technology strung together with wire and cables to solve crimes.

They haven't met Richard Castle

The elevator's bell ringing signals the arrival of said person, Richard Castle. He steps out onto the floor that for five years has been so familiar to him. A most important place for him. A home away from home. That one extra special place everyone has in their lives. For Richard Castle ha can truthfully say that this is where he fell in love.

As soon as he clears the elevator lobby, he is seen by one of the FBI "Sorry sir. This area is restricted. No civilians allowed"

"I am Richard Castle. I have been working with these detectives for several years as a consultant"

"Well that may be, but the FBI is in charge of this operation."

"Captain Gates hears and sees Castle's arrival and walks over "Agent, this man is a member of the staff here. I will vouch for him. Let him in"

Castle is a little taken back by Gate's acceptance of him. "Captain Thank you. It looks like you have a lot going on today"

She indicates that she wants Rick to follow her into her office "Yes, they do like to take over. But I had no choice but to call them in. Regulations call for the FBI to be contacted whenever four or more bodies are found. And this one meets criteria"

"Yes, Sir, it does. Where are Beckett and the guys?"

"Detective Beckett, UH I mean Agent Beckett is over with Dr Parish and Ryan and Esposito are in the conference room reviewing old files looking for something that might help find out what happened here"

"Captain, do you mind if I go and see if I can be of help?"

"Mr. Castle. You might actually be of some help here because of your speed reading ability. Please. I will appreciate that. Thank you"

"Not a problem, captain. And" As Castle looks at his watch "its lunch time and I will order a giant spread of Chinese food. Not for the FBI, just your people. OK?"

A smile actually appears on the captain's face "Thank you Mr. Castle"

Rick turns and heads to the conference room when he finds Ryan and Esposito buried under a mountain of case reports. Ryan looks up when he sees Castle enter the room

"Hey Javi, look who decided to show his face"

"Hey Bro" Esposito stands up and puts Castle into bear hug "good to see you. Especially since you finally decided to take our girl and make an honest woman out of her"

It takes Rick a moment to understand what Esposito meant, then he smiles "She told you?"

"She showed it to us, Castle. WOW! Nice rock. You did us proud" Javi states

"We are really happy for you guys. So when is the wedding?" Ryan asks

"We haven't set any dates yet. Honestly, I would just like to run off get hitched, but she deserves a huge ceremony. But whatever she wants is good with me. But enough of that, I have lunch coming and what can I do to help you two?"

The two detectives start telling Castle about the case and showing him the information that they have gathered so far.

* * *

Outside the conference room the FBI team is setting up their operations. Detective Waters is talking to FBI Agent Allen when both women notice Richard Castle leaving the captain's office.

"OH! Who is that?" Waters states

Agent Allen looks up and gets a look come over her face "Oh my gosh! That's Richard Castle, the writer."

"Castle? The Richard Castle who wrote all those mystery books? I love his books. I wonder what he is doing here?" Waters states

"I don't' know. But if they let him in, then he must have connections at this station. Oh look, he is going in to talk to Ryan and Esposito. They must be why he's here" Allen comments

"He is a little yummy" The young detective says with a gleam in her eye

The FBI agent looks over to the younger female detective "I saw him first"

"No you didn't, I did" Waters remarks

"I actually saw him the other day in DC. I don't know why he was there, but the director's assistant said that the two of them were old friends. They evidently went to college together. She said that they visited for a little while"

"So Agent Allen, he was in DC and now he's here? He may have been visiting your director but he might have a girlfriend here?"

"Let's ask Ryan and Esposito if he does have someone special in his life right now" Allen suggests

"No they will tell him we are asking about him"

"All right then. It is probably a girlfriend here. What about the detective he followed around while doing the Nikki Heat books? What was her name?"

"That was Kate Beckett he followed"

Oh, well then my guys actually know something about her. They found out that she is um; well let's just say Castle is not her cup of tea. She is more interested in a certain Medical Examiner here in New York"

"All right then, Page 6 of the Ledger lists the most eligible bachelors and he was still listed the last time I looked. He was number 8 or something. That probably means NO GIRLFRIEND!"

"OH! Really?"

"All Right Agent Allen you ready for a little bet?"

"What?"

"OK. A hundred bucks. Who can get him on a date first"

"Date? Just a date? A date is easy. How about the first one to get him into bed. And I don't mean just for sleeping".

"You're ON!"


	10. Chapter 10

Agent Beckett arrives at the medical examiner's office. This time she does it with just a little more flash.

Pulling up in a Jaguar does bring an additional level of attention to her arrival. When she steps out of her car, she places her FBI parking permit in the window and heads for the door.

Once inside she goes looking for Lanie. As she nears the morgue door she can see that her best friend, slash medical examiner has a room filled with bones

"Hey, Lanie" Kate speaks as she walks thru the swinging doors

"Hey girlfriend" Lanie responds. What are you doing here?"

"I am assigned to this case "Beckett answers as she is pointing to the pile of human remain on the examination tables

"What? Are you back at the 12th or what?"

"I am stuck with the FBI for the moment and I am supposed to be here making sure the medical examiner knows what she is doing. How silly is that?"

"You are here to nurse maid me" The fiery M.E. Responds "That is a little bit condescending"

"No Lanie is a LOT condescending. But for now, what do you have for me?

"It appears that all the men were killed at the same time. Or at least near the same time. My guess is no more than within a week of each other. They all appear to be of the same nationally and I don't think they were native of the US or at least have not been here very long. There is some indication of early year's malnutrition in all of them. Their teeth indicate very little or no dental health wherever they grew up, but it appears they did have better care later on. I feel very sure they were immigrants"

Lanie glances to the notes again "They were all under 5'6" so not very tall. That may help find out the place or origin"

"Anything else?" Beckett asks while taking notes

"Only grave site data. The material from the graves is a little odd. The dirt over the bodies was different than the dirt from under the graves."

"You mean like a hole was dug, the bodies thrown in then covered with a load of dirt from somewhere else?"

"Exactly. That is how it looks"

"Do we have any idea about the fill dirt? Where it came from?"

"No. CSU has that and you will have to get that from them"

"Thanks Lanie"

"So Kate, how is the engaged life treating you? Anything new and exciting happening. I mean other than the obvious exciting stuff. After all it only took five years for him to pop the question"

"I did not wait five years. We have only been dating for a year"

"Katherine Beckett! You have had the hots for him since he wrote that first book about you and you know it. And if he had his way, and you had opened up to him, then the two of you would have already had the house with the white picket fence and the 2.3 children and a dog and you know it"

"Lanie! Give it up. We are together now. OK? OH! Wait a minute. I do need to show you what Rick gave me for my engagement present. Follow me" Kate exclaimed as she starts toward the door toward the parking lot, motioning for Lanie to follow her

"You mean something other than the jewelry store on your left hand?" Lanie says as she follows Beckett out the door

Kate pushes open the exit door to the parking lot and allows Lanie to pass her. There is no doubt on Lanie's face that she was not expecting to see what was parked on the lot. A bright red Jaguar

"Holy cow girlfriend!" Lanie yells "This is what he bought for you for an engagement present? WOW! I knew that man loved you and this proves it. I wonder what you will get for a wedding present"

Kate is just standing looking at the gift from her man when she notices the car's tag

"Lanie Look the license plate"

"NIKKI"

"Wow! This is great. You will have to take me for a spin. Do we have any where we need to be right now?"

"Yeah! We do. I think I need to go to the crime scene and you and I can check on some evidence"

"Great. Let me get my stuff. I want to show up at a crime scene in that" As she points to the red sports car

After Lanie gets her collection kit she climbs into Kate's Jag and the two women head down to the crime scene. During the trip, the two women try to catch up a little more than they did the previous week end

"Kate did those two Casanovas you work with finally give up on trying to make you their next new number?"

"I made sure they saw my new ring on Monday when I got into the station, UH…I guess station is not the right word. The floor? The desk? I don't know Lanie. It is not the same there. It is not what I thought it was. It is not what I really want. I just want to come home and I don't know how to do it without sounding like I'm a quitter"

"Kate, you are a lot of things. But a quitter you are not. Maybe this case is exactly what you need to prove your worth. Solve it and you show your value to everyone and then see who really wants to keep you. The FBI or Gates. My money will be on Gates and she will ask you to come back and rejoin the team"

"Lanie, Gate gave me her highest recommendation to get the new job. Like she wanted to get rid of me or something"

"Kate I heard that she was so proud for you. That is why she recommended you for the position. But I also heard she is missing you and your ability to put killers behind bars"

Lanie, I helped get killers off the streets but it had a lot to do with my partners. We were a complete team. We got the job done because we were well connected to each other. We thought with one mind"

"Some connections were a lot closer than other connections" Lanie comment with a grin. "If you know what I mean"

"LANIE" Kate turns a little red at the intentional innuendo from her best friend

"Kate, with or without Castle, you are one of the absolute best homicide detectives that has ever hunted down murderers in this city or anywhere. Don't you forget that? So any department or agency that has you on its team is the winner"

"Thank you Lanie"

The pair pulls into the cordoned off area of the crime. Seeing a vehicle that obviously is not a police cruiser, the perimeter officer tries to stop them from entering the area until he sees who is driving the car

"Detective Beckett, is this the new Government Issue police car? Because if it is I want a transfer to your section so I can get one myself "

"Very funny" Beckett replies "Where is the sergeant?"

The officer points to a van parked on the side of one of the buildings. It is just outside the van that she sees the other two FBI agents.

As Lanie and Beckett walk over toward the van, the men see them coming.

Hamilton speaks up first "Here comes Beckett and her fiancé. And will you look at what they drove up in?"

"Detective Waters said it was a nice sports car, but WOW! Will you look at that! A bright red Jag" Jess comment

"Hey guys, have you found out any new information?" Beckett asks of the pair

"Not yet, Beckett" Hamilton answers

"Hello Dr. Parish" Looking toward Lanie, Melbourne responds "We are just getting started gathering information on what they have so far

Kate is looking at the lot where the bodies were removed from. The CSU has placed a grid over the area to make it easier to identify where evidence or bodies parts are located. Each grid section is identified on a master map for reference.

"Is there any indication as to why this is the burial site? I mean any significance?" Beckett asks

"None that we can tell" Hamilton answers

Sergeant Gabriel exits the command van and sees the two women "Dr. Parish, Detective Beckett. Good to see you both. Beckett, how is the job in DC going? Oh wait. My mistake that is now Agent Beckett isn't it?"

"Hey Rex. I answer to either. Can you give us any updates on the crime scene?"

"Not much. We are still sifting thru the dirt. We have found eight slugs. They appear to be .45 cal. We are assuming they are from the weapon used. The caliber matches the wounds. But we can't be absolutely sure. The slugs have seen sent to the lab for analysis and ballistics, but they have been in the ground for so long, I am not sure they can be of any help. But we will see."

"Thanks Rex " Kate comments before turning to the other FBI agents "Lanie and I are going back to the morgue then I am heading back to the precinct. I will see you two then"

As Lanie and Kate are walking back to the car, Lanie asks somewhat loudly where the men standing at the van can hear "Hey girlfriend, can I drive back?"

Kate tosses the keys over to her best friend "Here you go"

Lanie comments as she gets behind the wheel "I have never driven such an expensive car. You think Castle will mind?"

"I doubt it Lanie"

"Right! Richard Castle will not mind as long as he can to make sure you stay happy"

The two FBI agents are standing at the van watching as the two women drive off. When Hamilton comments, "Too bad they are not interested in us. It would have been great"

Sergeant Gabriel glances over at these two agents thinking 'What makes these two think they even have a fighting chance with Lanie and Kate? If they knew anything about the men these women have in their lives, why in the world would they even look twice at these two losers?'


	11. The hits (on Castle) just keep on coming

**Random thought about Season 6. based on some spoilers and hints** **from cast**

**Opens with Kate in DC chasing someone(pictures). She goes in ally. Bomb goes off(Tamela says explosive 1st episode). Puts her in hospital**  
**FBI guy goes to Castle, tells him his fiance is injured(script snipptt reference FBI guy at Castle's loft). Castle goes to her bedside**  
**Kate is in a coma and dreams about the proposal and accepting(pictures at swings)**  
**She wakes from coma and says "this is FBI gig is not for me"**

* * *

Richard Castle, Kevin Ryan, Javier Esposito and Victoria Gates are sitting in the break room sharing the Chinese dinner Rick had delivered. He ordered enough food for all of the 12th precinct officers to share. Several of the uniforms and plain clothes have come and gone with their lunch already. Politely they indicated that the meals were for the NYPD and not for the Feds

"Mr. Castle I see now why these detectives like having you around" Gates gives Rick a small smile

"Thank you captain. But I hope they like me for more than just the lunches"

"Oh, Mr. Castle I am sure they do. In fact I know one former detective that likes you for a lot more than just the food"

"This brings a chuckle from Ryan and Esposito since both know exactly which former detective that would be

"Mr. Castle, have you been able to make any headway in with the file in there?" pointing toward the conference room table filled with case folders

"Not yet, sir. But I am just beginning. I hope I can have something soon, however"

After lunch the three men leave the break room and return to the pile of paper stacked on tables and chairs in the conference room.

Just as the men return to the files, Agent Allen enters the room. "Hello Mr. Castle. I am Agent Allen with the FBI and I understand that you are a civilian consultant to the 12th"

"Rick looks up from the table and without changing his expression answers "Yes. I am. I try to help my city and my friends with the police department as much as I can"

"Well, Rick. Do you mind if I call you Rick?"

"No that's fine" Castle answers without noticing the obvious flirt in her voice

"We appreciate your help in any way you can. So for now, I will leave you three to your work" As the FBI agent steps back out to the corridor. She smiles to herself knowing she just broke the ice and hopes to warm him up before the case is solved

Without missing a beat the men return to the duties in front of them

After another three hours or so, Castle drops the file he has in his hand and sits back in his chair.

"Guys, we are getting nowhere with this. All these are robbery, burglary reports, vehicle accidents and so forth. All together based on type of event. What if we reorganize them into chronological order? Set up everything as to the date when it happened. That way we create a day by day list of events. Maybe by looking at the events as they happened we might see a pattern emerge"

That makes sense" Esposito responds

The three men begin stacking the files. First break down is by the year. Then they will start sorting each year by the month.

After they have finished separating by year Ryan has started stacking the files by the month. By the time they have them down to the month, the men realize it is getting late

Castle looks at the clock "Guys, lets go to The Old Haunt and relax for an hour or so and start fresh in the morning?"

"Sounds great to me "Esposito responds

"Same here" Ryan agrees

The three men walk out to the bull pin and head toward the elevator. It is at this moment that Detective Waters comes from around the corner and sees the men leaving. She decides this might be her chance

"Hey Mr. Castle" Rick turns to see who called his name "My name is Julie Waters and I was transferred here to replace the previous detective, uh Beckett"

That statement of replace Beckett does not set well with Rick

"Yes detective. Nice to meet you" Castle responds politely

"I wanted to meet you earlier, but you seemed extremely busy with all those files. But I was wondering if I might buy you a drink and get to know you. I understand that you are around the station a lot"

"I am here frequently. But we are on our way to the Old Haunt to have a drink if you might like to join us" Rick responds not seeing the obvious look in her eyes that she is planning for this to be more than just a drink

"UH, yeah. I guess so" She responds, really not wanting the other two men to be part of the "date"

The group of now four steps into the elevator and head down to the street.

Back on the fourth floor Captain Gates is clearing her desk and getting ready to walk out when she is approached by Agent Allen

"Captain, has your team left for the day?"

"Yes, I believe they all headed out for a quick after work drink and then home"

The FBI agent is obviously disappointed since she had plans to try to take Castle to dinner

"Captain, do you know if Mr. Castle was with them?"

"Oh yes. Those three are a team. Why? Did you need something?"

"No, just wanted to ask Mr. Castle a question about one of his characters in one of his books"

"Well Agent Allen, they probably went to The Old Haunt. That is the favorite cop bar around. You will probably find them there if you really want to see him"

"Great. How do I find this Old Haunt?"

Gates writes the address of the bar on piece of paper and gives it to her. The captain tells her that she will see her in the morning and the captain leaves the precinct.

Agent Allen has a smile on her face as she leaves to try and hook up with the detectives and Rick Castle.

She quickly finds the Old Haunt following the instructions given to her by the captain. Once inside she quickly sees the group of detectives sitting at a table in the rear of the bar. She also sees her competitor sitting next to Castle

"Hello detectives" Barbara Allen speaks as soon as she arrives at the table. "May I join you?"

Castle, being the gentleman rises at the appearance of a woman "Yes, of course. Please join us" indicating an empty seat next to Kevin

Barbara is not happy seeing that Detective Waters has arranged to be sitting directly beside Castle. She also notices that Julie is using her feminine charms by making sure that she is in constant contact with Rick. More specifically what would be best described as accidental on purpose body contact. She is making sure that whenever possiblean intimate portion of her body is always touching Castle's arm or side.

Rick has moved several times toward Ryan trying to get away from these advances. He is trying to be polite and not say anything in case the actions are accidental. But they are not. And Barbara knows exactly what is happening

Then after Agent Allen sits down next to Kevin Ryan, Castle tries to make small talk

"So Agent Allen" Rick begins "how long have you been the FBI?"

"Ten years this fall. I started right out of college. I started on the ground floor and worked my way up to senior field agent"

"Very nice" Castle comments while trying to move a little more away from the detective. But he is about to push Ryan into the FBI agent.

Ryan is feeling trapped. He looks at his watch and comments "Guys, I need to head home to Jenny. I don't like to leave her alone too long since we are getting closer to her due date and all, so if you will excuse me Agent Allen, I need to go"

"Oh Detective, I didn't know you were going to be a dad?"

"Yeah, My wife is expecting. She is due next month. So I really need to head out" Ryan gets up and heads to the door.

As soon as Kevin stands up, Barbara sits down and moves over up against Castle. Now Rick is trapped between two women who are both playing the 'l will let him touch me and act like it was an accident' game

Barbs starts back up on the conversation she tried to start earlier "Rick, tell me about Nikki Heat. I read your books and I was wondering. Was she a real cop or just a figment of your very wild imagination?"

"Actually she is based on…" Castle's cell phone rings at this moment causing him to pause in his answer. He looks at the screen and sees the picture of his future wife. Castle looks at Agent Allen and tells her that he needs to take this call and asks her to let him out.

The moment he is out of ear shot, he answers "Hey, Love. How are you?" as he listens to the voice of his beloved Kate

After a brief moment he responds "Ryan, Javi and I went to the Old Haunt. Do you two want to join us?" again a pause. "No I would rather have dinner too. Do you two want to meet somewhere...OK see you there. Love you" he punches the END button on the phone

Castle walks back to where he left Esposito stranded with these two women who seem to be distracted with Castle.

"Espo, I got to go. I have a dinner date, so I'll see you in the morning." Castle looks at the women "And I will also see you two tomorrow as well. Good night" and he walks to the door.

Javier Esposito does NOT want to be left alone with either of these two women so he bids his farewell and quickly heads to exit of the bar. Before he does, however, he tells the ladies "Castle owns this place so there is no tab to pay. If you want to leave a tip, that's fine. I'll see you tomorrow" And he is out the door

Barbara Allen looks over to Waters "Well you were a fine example of subtle"

"What are you talking about?" the detective asks

"You did everything but take off you clothes and say 'come get me'"

"I have no idea what you are talking about" Waters comments

"Don't give me that" Allen retorts "You know exactly how you were acting, rubbing all over him"

"I was trapped. It was crowded in the booth and I had no other place to be, but up next to him"

"Detective, I will not loose this bet. I will have him no later than Friday. Just watch me" Allen starts to get up and leave, dropping a tip on the table

Waters comments back "No you won't" she also lays down some cash "I think I can have him by Thursday"

This conversation continues out to the street with these two before they go their separate ways.

.


	12. A Dinner Date

**I just wanted a little fluff before we find out who was killed and why**

* * *

The day is going to finish much more like what Richard Castle has wanted. It will be just him and his lovely lady alone for dinner. Even though she is living in the loft now, he still enjoys just taking her out on a date.

While she was in orientation in DC, they could go places and not be plagued by any unwanted intrusion such as reporters from the Ledger or book groupies. Most of Richard Castle's fans were not even aware he was in DC with Kate. In fact, he has spent the last two weeks of Kate's training out of the country.

Now back in the City, they were being a little more careful as to where they were seen. But all of that is fixing to change. After Friday's press release they can be out in the open without fear of being discovered.

Over the last five year he and Kate have been spotted many times at places when they were just working on cases. The Chinese place that also delivers. The pizza by the slice that was just around the corner. Several hot dogs were consumed while standing on the curb just bought from the street side vendor cart. Or even a pretzel stand, just to name a few of the places

At a number of the other places they did frequent, it is just been assumed that the writer and his cop muse are there case related When they went to a sit down place such as Remy's for burgers or The Golden Egg Café at breakfast the other guests did not recognize them as being on a date since they would spend a large amount of the openly discussing the case they might be currently working on.

The higher profile the place is, the fewer times they have been able to visit as a couple. It is too easy to be recognized and questioned about the relationship. Since she went to DC, no one in New York has seen them together.

But Richard Castle does like to take his girl on dates to those special places and still have a little privacy. So he decides that tonight will be the last one of their real dates on the sly so to speak. They do enjoy acting like they were meeting each other like a secret romance. Well it is a romance and for now it is still a secret

So the moment he stepped outside the Old Haunt, he called and made reservation at Roland's Pacific Rim Café. This is one of the hardest places in SOHO to get into. But as usual "He knows people" In this case Roland himself. This is one café where he knows they can be alone and eat in peace. Away from the nosey neighbors and reporters

But not all plans that Castle dreams up go exactly as he intended. This one will turn out that way.

Since his last visit here this place has become the In Place to see and be seen. This definitely has become a much higher profile establishment. One where the paparazzi hang out looking for a picture and a story.

Castle arrives before Beckett and when he goes inside he asks the hostess to keep an eye out for Beckett and when she gets there to escort her thru the back hallway to the private booth where the two of them can eat without serious distractions.

What Castle had not considered, when he called Kate to meet him there, is the fact she is driving a bright red Jaguar. Now if you drive a red Jaguar, you normally are wanting attention and not trying to avoid being seen. Rick calls Kate and tells her to park the Jag in the remote lot across the street from the restaurant and wear something to hide her face, if she sees anyone who looks like they might be a reporter

Kate pulls into the lot across the street as Castle suggested. She drops the car off to the Valet and pulls the hood of her coat over her hair and crosses the street. The picture takers start clicking as soon as she walks toward the door and steps inside. Fortunately, Kate believes that they have not gotten a picture of her face and they cannot connect her to Castle YET.

Once inside, Kate reaches the hostess desk. Jennifer, the hostess, knows Kate on site and tells her that they will be taking the private hall to the back. Kate follows to the table where Rick is waiting. Once Kate arrives at the private booth, she removes her coat and sits beside her man

"Kate, I am sorry. I had no idea this place had become so popular. The paparazzi out front got my picture. Did they get you?"

"No. I don't think so. I covered my head with my coat. You know, Rick, this is kind of fun though. Playing like we are out cheating on a spouse or something"

"Yeah, it is" Rick takes Kate's hand, pulls her into a kiss. "I have missed doing these secret kisses lately"

"What? Are we going to have to revert to the handshakes again?"

"No! Definitely not. After Friday the entire world will know and then you know what? I don't care anymore"

Kate puts on that smile that Rick loves so much just as the server steps up. "Mr. Castle, Ms. Beckett Great to see you again. Let me tell you about this evening's specials. First off we have the Fresh Sea Bass, flown in just this morning from the…"

Neither one of these two hear any more of the specials. They know what they want this evening and it is not on the menu at this or any other restaurant.

After they finish their dinner Kate turns to Rick. "I guess I need to go make the walk of shame and head out to see if I can try to avoid the reporters."

"Kate, you wait here and I will leave first and then you leave a minute or two later. Then I will see you at home"

Castle walks out the front of the Café and is bombarded by paparazzi. He politely waves as the pictures are taken. He hears several of them yelling

"Who did you come with?"

"You on a date?"

"Where's your date?"

After Castle steps into a taxi, he texts Kate to tell her he has left and she can follow a minute later

After Beckett gets the text, she steps up from the table and leaves by the side exit door. Again, she covers her head and rushes across the street to the Valet and gets into her car and leaves thru a back exit from the lot

Once home to the loft she goes inside to find candles lit in the bedroom and soft music playing on the stereo. There is a pair of silk lounging pajamas on the bed. Kate steps into the bathroom and changes clothes.

She thinks 'he's up to something. It can't be to propose. He already did that'

When she enters the study, she sees Rick dressed in matching pajamas and he is holding two glasses of wine

She looks at Ricks face and sees a frown

"What's the frown for?" Kate says with a touch of worry in her voice

"I heard that you were spotted at a well known café this evening in a secret dinner rendezvous with some mystery writer" Then he smiles an evil smile

"I have no idea what you are referring to" Kate replies knowing where Rick is going with this "You must be mistaken. I was at the movies with Lanie. You can call her and ask"

"I already did. She said she has not seen you in days. So tell me. Have I lost you to this novelist?"

"I cannot lie to you. Yes! I have been in love with him from the first moment I read one of his books. He captured my heart and I can't let him go. I will be living with him for the rest of my life"

"Well Kate. Is there anything I can do to save this relationship?"

Kate walks over to where Castle is sitting and places herself on his lap and surrounds his shoulders with her arms "Just never stop loving me"

"That is not a problem, Katherine Houghton Beckett"

The evening ended just the way he planned

.


	13. Theories- Theories Everywhere But Not A

Thursday morning begins early for Esposito and Ryan as they walk onto the 4th floor. The room is now completely filled with technicians and agents from the local FBI field office. Also the two male agents sent from headquarters in DC are sitting at desks set up in the small conference room.

As they approach the break room the two NYPD detectives they can hear some type of a heated discussion in the room between Agent Allen and Detective Waters.

"What is going on between those two?" Esposito asks as he is looking thru the glass

"Not a clue" Ryan answers

"I did want some coffee, but I am afraid of getting into the middle of whatever that is" Espo retorts while pointing his thumb at the door

Inside the break area the two women are, to be polite at each others throats, verbally. Detective waters is holding a copy of this morning's Ledger opened to page six

"Whoever she is, I will find out and we will get to the bottom of this" She says in a very stressed voice

"You will? I can have the entire resources of the FBI on top of finding her" Barbara Allen comments then she adds "What does the paper say again?"

Detective Waters opens the paper again and starts reading

_"Richard Castle was seen tonight dining at the latest and greatest eating establishment in SOHO, Roland's Pacific Rim Café. Roland's has now become the cities most desired destination. But the famous author and most eligible bachelor was evidently not alone for the night. A tall well dressed woman appeared just after his arrival and was escorted down what is known as "Rendezvous' Alley" toward the rear of the restaurant where all the secret liaisons occur. The woman departed moments after Mr. Castle so it is thought that she was with him for the evening. This reporter is assuming she must be a celebrity or well connected New York debutant since she arrived and left in a brand new Red Porsche Sports Car"_

Agent Allen is not happy "Who is he seeing? Why don't we ask your detective partners? They are friends with Castle. I'll bet they can tell us who she is"

Detective Waters sees the two detectives walking down the corridor and she steps out

"Guys, can you come here and help us with something?"

After hearing the level of anger coming from inside the room, neither man is interested in getting involved, but they have no reason to not

"What can we do for you?" Ryan asks first

Detective Waters turns to Agent Allen "Barbs. This was your idea. You ask them"

"All right" She turns toward the men "We have a little bet going on between me and your fellow detective. We are trying to set up a date and we are wondering if you two could or would help us?"

"Set up a date? A date with whom?" Esposito wonders

"Castle! Richard Castle! That's who" Barbs responds

Kevin Ryan should not have been drinking from his coffee cup when that was said. He almost choked when he blew hot coffee out his nose

Esposito is trying not to laugh out loud

"You want us to do what?" Esposito repeats

Detective Waters answers "We have a bet going on Richard Castle. The Ledger has him listed as one of the most eligible bachelors and we are trying to see who can take him out on a date first, me or Allen "

Esposito has a look of understanding on his face. He thinks about how touchy feely Waters was night before last night at The Old Haunt

"Anyway what makes you two think that either one of you has a chance with him? He probably has some Hollywood bimbo in his bed right now" Javi says

Then with a smile as he looks toward Ryan who is still trying to wipe the coffee off his face

Waters shows the newspaper to Allen again "See I told you. It says here she looks like some celebrity and she is driving a Porsche. So she must have money

Ryan leans over to Esposito and whispers "Kate's new car is a Jag. Not a Porsche"

Esposito answers "These reporters don't know a VolksWagen from a BMW"

Then he continues out loud "Look, we are not getting into your little war. We have a killer to find right now. So I suggest that before Gates comes in and sees you two, that you drop this bet and get back to the case at hand"

Ryan and Esposito both turn and leave the two women arguing over the coffee machine. The coffee machine that by chance Castle provided to them years ago. Both men are fighting back laughter all the way to their respective desks

The elevator bell rings and Beckett and Castle enter the floor together. Both holding their coffee cups and chatting happily between themselves. Before they are seen by the two women, Ryan motions them to head down the hall that leads toward the rest rooms. Once out of earshot he starts his story

"Did you two go out on a date last night?"

"Why are you asking Kevin" Kate wonders

"The Ledger evidently saw you and there is a story about Rick being on a secret date with a mystery woman last night."

"Funny Ryan" Rick comments "Yes we went to a new place in SOHO"

Ryan glances back again "Castle, it seems that these two" pointing at the pair of women " have a bet going on about having a date with you"

"That explains the events from last night" Castle remarks

"What EVENTS?" Kate questions

"Oh nothing! Just something that occurred last night at The Old Haunt just before you called me"

"Kate, Detective Waters was being a big flirt with Castle. That's all" Ryan states

"Ok really?" Beckett pokes Rick on the arm

"Kate, I got out as fast as I could. Tell her Ryan"

"I left to go home. So I don't really know what happened after I left. You'll have to ask Espo about that"

"I promise I was so glad you called me. I was wondering what was happening with her. So, now I know"

It is at that moment Esposito rounds the corner "Hey, the FBI wants to give us their take on the crime.

"Let's go then" Kate says just like before when she was in charge of the team" Then, looking at Rick. "I will be so glad after tomorrow and this is open" Kate holds her left hand up to show off her ring

Then she makes a last comment "And I will win the bet".

* * *

The morning is filled with the FBI team throwing theories at the wall and trying to see if any of them stick. Captain Gates and Agent Allen are listening to the theories being put forth.

Agent Ted Hamilton starts out with his theory that these men were members of a street gang and that they had a bad run-in with a rival gang. The gang war ended with these twelve men being killed and buried in the grave on the vacant lot.

Ryan responds "Based upon the files from the time period, there was no gang related events happening. If there were a turf war, the gang unit would have documented it. There is absolutely nothing to indicate that gangs were involved"

"I think that these were gangs from another neighborhood probably. This was neutral turf so they had a war here and the loser got buried" Hamilton defends his position

"Again if there were a gang war even from a different part of town the loss of twelve members would show up somewhere. I don't think that is the answer" Esposito completes Ryan's thought on the theory

Captain Gates speaks up "I have to agree with the detectives. A gang war where twelve soldiers were taken out would have brought more violence and more violence somewhere in the city. There is no proof that this is what toke place here. Any other theories?"

Agent Welborne stands up to the front "My theory also fits and is somewhat similar to Ted's. I believe it is a turf war, except mine is a Mafia hit. The family that controls this area was being threatened by another family and they executed a group of the opposition as an example of how they take care of another crime boss trying to take over"

Captain Gates again shoots down this idea "The victims are not the typical members of one of the crime families. They were more like a gang as far as ages go and less likely to be a crime syndicate member. The similar ages are what confuse me the most here. Organized crime members vary in ages too much. Also is everyone forgetting the ME's report that these men seemed to have come from somewhere with moderately poor health care?"

Agent Wellborn sits down with a look of rejection on his face

The Captain looks over to her former detective "Agent Beckett. Do you or your shadow have anything to present to this group?"

Beckett looks over to Castle who responds "Not yet. We have a theory that we are tying to finalize and I think we can report back later this afternoon or first thing in the morning, Sir"

"Very well" Agent Allen states "We will continue this later. In the mean time, if anyone else gets any ideas, let me know and we will reconvene"

Everyone stands then Agent Allen comments, "Agent Beckett will you hold up a minute?"

Kate looks at Castle and responds "Certainly" She turns to Rick. "See you later"

Castle smiles and shakes his head in acknowledgment as he exits the area

"Agent Beckett can you help me with something?" Barbs asks

"Yes of course"

"I am trying to win a bet with Detective Waters and I need your help"

Kate knows exactly what is coming now "What can I do?"

"We have a bet as to who can get into Castle's bed first. Can you help me with that?"

"What do you think I can do?"

"I know that you are not into men, since you and the medical examiner are a couple and engaged and everything, "

What! WHAT! Kate is thinking. Where did she come up with that? Is that how they took me starting to wear my engagement ring? Oh! Now this is going to be good. She thinks

"But since he has been hanging around here for so many years, I thought you might have picked up on some of his secret sexual fantasies. You know a little something he might find exciting. I heard about this one trick that you can do with ice."

Kate is using every bit of her self control in trying to not bitch slap her boss right now


	14. Case Closed

**I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I decided to wrap this package and put it under the tree**

* * *

Late Thursday afternoon Rick gets a call on his cell phone and he steps away to answer.

"Castle" Rick listens for a minute. "Great. That is exactly what I thought. Thanks Billy"

Castle hangs up the phone and then looks across the room for his partners. He sees Beckett sitting beside Ryan's desk talking to both of the boys. They are looking over several files when Castle walks up beside them

"I've got the response to my question in the county records and if you want to hear this I think I have the answer to what happened and who is the suspect" Castle asks his three partners

"Let's go" Ryan answers

Rick proceeds to tell his theory to the others who all listen carefully making comments as necessary to be sure the story lines up with the facts and all the bases are covered. After a thirty minute presentation, Esposito stands up

"Let's go make an arrest and see if he comes clean" Ryan joins him as they exit the building

"Well my guy does it again" Kate comments while looking up at Rick

"Not alone I didn't. I could not do this without you and the boys. We are a team Kate. We have been a team for five years now. And together we are a great team"

"Rick you're right. WE are a team. You, Ryan, Javi and me. All of us here in one place. One of us is not enough. It takes all of us together. Doesn't it?"

Kate has a look in her eyes Castle has not seen in some time. A lost look. A look that she wants back in where she belongs

Castle, do you think Gates would take me back AGAIN. I mean after what happened last year with me resigning. She seemed glad I was gone. So how could she possibly accept me back?"

"Kate, she had not seen what you can do back then. Now she has witnessed the extraordinary abilities you possess. To tell you the truth, she has been missing you this last month. We all saw it. If you want back in, I think she will be glad to have you back here

"I hope so"

"Kate, it's late. How about we go home and relax for the last time as a secret couple. Tomorrow brings the publicity"

"OK" Beckett stands and the two of them head for the elevator. Just as the doors close, Kate leans her head into Rick's shoulder and he places his arm around her back

"I love you, Kate" Castle says in a gentle voice

"I love you too" Kate responds into his chest

Just as the couple disappears into the elevator car, Agent Allen rounds the corner planning on capturing Rick before he can make his escape. After all, she told Waters that she would have him buy Friday. Friday is tomorrow and she does not plan on loosing the $100.00 bet

When she misses Castle, she decides that she will take a more direct approach. She goes to the computer terminal on the desk and pulls up his address information on Richard Castle. She writes down his information and rapidly rushes out the door.

But she is not alone. Just behind her is Detective Waters. She also has retrieved the address for the Castle loft and is en route to try and set up a very private meeting with the writer.

Too bad both of these women will loose this bet. They just don't know it yet.

* * *

As Kate and Rick exit the taxi Beckett comments "I haven't been here in a month. Not since I went to DC. I guess everything is ok in my old apartment"

Neither of them wants to think about the fact that this is the first time they have been in her apartment together since they had the fight over the DC job interview.

"Don't worry, Kate. I have had my cleaning crew come in once a week to dust and make sure everything was still ok."

Castle is carrying a sack with a small can of coffee, eggs, bacon, bread for toast and some fresh vegetables and a package of chicken breasts for him to make dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow

"I am glad I remembered mother was having that dinner party in the loft tonight. I do not want to be there with her Broadway crowd. They tend to get a little rowdy. This way you and I have our privacy and mother can still have her party"

While Castle starts prep for supper, Kate goes into the bedroom and changes into her shorts and a loose jersey.

When Beckett walks back into the kitchen see watches her man being very domestic. He is rushing around cutting vegetables, seasoning the meat, heating up the stove. Just generally being a man that Kate Beckett at one time thought did not even exist. She is feeling so very lucky that this relationship came her way.

When Rick sees Kate enter the room, his mind goes to just how lucky he is. The beautiful woman allowed him in and accepted him. She is tough, smart, savvy, and sexy. He has run out of adjectives to describe her. She makes him feel important. She has shown him so many different sides of herself. He is so glad this relationship came his way

* * *

There is a knock on the door of the loft. Outside stands Barbara Allen. She is ready to pounce on Castle when he opens the door. She is more than a little taken back when she is greeted by an older man

"Hello ma'am" Victor Schneider says when he opens the door to the loft "Welcome to the party. Come on in" and he literally drags the FBI agent into the room

Barbara Allen is momentarily confused by the crowd inside "Excuse me. I thought this was Richard Castle's loft?"

"Yes, yes it is... I think? But I have not seen him tonight" The somewhat intoxicated guest looks into the room "Has anyone seen Castle tonight?"

A voice from somewhere deep inside responds "NO! He is at his girlfriend's apartment tonight"

Victor looks back to the now disappointed woman "No, sorry ma'am. But would you like to be my date for the evening?"

Agent Allen makes a hasty retreat

Within minutes there is another knock on the door to the loft. Again Victor greets the visitor. This time it is Julie Waters confused by the man standing inside the portal "Is this Mr. Castle's home?"

"Yes. It is still Castle's home. That has not changed" The more than tipsy Victor comments

"Is Castle here?" Waters asks

"No. as I told the other woman, he is at his girlfriends tonight"

"Other woman? What other woman?" is all that the now depressed detective can respond

Beckett hears her cell phone ring but it is in the living room and she, and Rick are elsewhere otherwise occupied. Once she manages to get to her phone, the call has already gone to voice mail.

She dials her voice mail and hears Esposito's voice "Hey you two. Getting an early start are we? Just wanted to let you know, you were right. He confessed. I told the boss and she is rounding up the troops for the morning. She is also calling a press conference here at the station at noon. Oh Yeah, Gates says she wants you back. So get down here early tomorrow. You guys have fun"

Beckett smiles as she climbs back into bed with Castle

"Not only did you solve the case, I get to come home, and I win the bet about who gets into bed with Castle. I win all the way around"

Rick wraps his arms around Kate "No! I win"

* * *

Friday morning and other ding to the elevator as the doors open to the 4th floor Homicide Division. This time out steps Ryan, Esposito, Beckett and Castle. The four horsemen as one of the FBI team has nicknamed them

The four as a group together walk into the bull pin and are greeted by Captain Gates

"Good morning everyone. Is everyone rested and ready to present the case to the FBI?" Then the captain leans to the four "That you solved without their help?"

"Ready sir, Beckett announces"

"Lead the way Detective Beckett" the captain points toward the large conference room where a large contingent of people are waiting. Inside the meeting room are the FBI. Agent Allen, Agent Hamilton and Agent Wellborn. Also Detective Waters and several of the local agents and tech support personnel from the FBI field office are present

Captain Gates begins "Thank you everyone for being here. I have good news. My fine group of detectives along with Mr. Castle has solved this case. Now I want to thank the FBI for offering their support but as you will see, my staff is the best around. Before they begin I want to state that this is not just a theory. We have arrested the suspect who has confessed to the crime. So, I will turn this over to Detective Beckett."

"Thank you captain. The crime occurred 18 years ago. The twelve men who died were foreign exchange students attending NYU."

Kate puts up an aerial map of the block where the bodies were found. The map also shows three additional buildings that were there at the time

"The suspect, Rex Sheffield, owned the entire block at this time. He was negotiating to tear down all these four buildings and put up a new skyscraper, but he had a little problem. The twelve victims were living in an apartment with a long term lease in this building"

Beckett points to the picture of their building "There had been a building here where their bodies were found. It had just been torn down days before"

"Rex Sheffield tried to get them to move, but the lease was cheap and they wanted to stay. He saw millions of dollars evaporating every day, so he hired a hit team to come in and take care of the problem. They buried the men in the basement of the building next door and brought in fill to cover the bodies"

"That explains the different dirt" Agent Hamilton comments

"Correct" Castle states

Beckett continues her report. "He disposed of their possessions. He did this between semesters so when the students did not return for classes in the fall everyone just thought they had returned home and dropped out. When families inquired into the missing students, it went thru the State Department and never was filed as a missing persons report with NYPD"

Esposito steps up "We arrested Mr. Sheffield last night and he confessed. He had seen the news reports and decided the end was coming. He told us everything without holding anything back. He said he was glad so he could get it off his conscience"

The group applauds then Agent Allen stands up, "I understand the Captain has a press conference scheduled in fifteen minutes. So everyone let's go outside and stand with Captain Gates"

Out side on the steps of the 12th the Captain has stepped up to the podium and begins her announcement to the press. The detectives form the backdrop for this occasion. The FBI has had to take a little of a back seat to the festivities today.

After the captain finishes her statements and takes a few questions she makes another announcement.

"I know most of you are here only for the announcement about the mass murder but there is another press release scheduled for today and everyone here at the 12th wanted to be a part of this announcement because it relates one of our own. This announcement is much more personal and much more joyful. So for this part of the press conference I want to introduce Paula Haas. Paula?"

The FBI agents are looking at the captain with questions on their faces. Agent Allen leans over to the others and asks "Do either of you two know what this is about?"

Both of the men respond in the negative

She turns to Detective Waters who also shakes her head 'no'

Looking back up to the podium they watch as Paula begins "Ladies and gentlemen of the press. I was not expecting so many to be at my little press release, but since I got to ride on the coat tails of the other one I will take it"

Paula looks over her shoulder toward Castle who is, of course standing next to Kate who is next to Lanie

I am here to make an engagement announcement. Two very special people have decided to change their status from 'single' to 'in a relationship…'

At this moment Agents Hamilton and Wellborn look at each other, bump fists and turn to Waters "See we told you so"

Paula continues "These two have been a couple for years. The only problem was they were the only ones who didn't see it"

Allen comments "That's what usually happens with couples who should be together. They just don't see what everyone else does"

"So after much avoiding the elephant in the room. The subtext in their conversations. The absolute maddening desire for them, to be together. They finally decided it was more fun to be together than to suffer apart."

She looks to the group again and reaches back

"I wish to formally announce the engagement of Richard Edgar Castle…"

Barbara puts out one word "WHAT?"

"COUGH!" Ted almost chokes

Paula has stopped speaking and Beckett sees what happened with the FBI agents. She decides that this is a good time to rub it in just a little.

Kate turns to Castle, wraps her arms around him and proceeds to play suck face on Rick for all she is worth

Paula finishes her sentence "To Katherine Houghton Beckett"

Jess was ready to comment about Lanie, but then he says "WHO?"

Julie Waters is standing with his mouth open and no words coming out

There is some applause from the reporters then questions begin about how long will the engagement be? Where will they live? Where will they get married?

Finally after several questions get answered, Paula steps back up. "I think we need to let them get back to their business for today. Thanks everyone for being here."

As the happy couple starts to leave the steps Kate, walks up to Agent Allen

"You will find my resignation in your email box when you get back to DC. I am rejoining the NYPD and by the way you and Waters each owe me $100.00. I have been in Rick's bed long before either of you even knew him.

Kate and Rick re enter the station leaving the FBI agents just standing on the steps empty handed


End file.
